A Heart in the Dust
by Rainstone56
Summary: [Oneshot/Oneshot Collection] She wasn't expecting to find any living soul in this Heartless world-She wasn't expecting to find a broken metal door. She wasn't even expecting to find a Heart within the White Ash of this world, a Heart not even the Heartless touched. Fate, apparently, had other ideas. [UnlockedVerse/UV, see Profile and/or PM for details]
1. Chapter 1

**_I dunno why I have the urge to share this on here. Perhaps someone will find it good. This is sort of a Years ago prologue to a story I'm working on. This kind of takes place prior to the events of the First Kingdom Hearts game, but at least 2-3 years after BBS. Obscura is a character of mine, but I own nothing else. Enjoy, if you've stumbled upon this. -Webs_**

_**Music suggested to play- End of the World or Night of the Dark Dream, both by Yoko Shimomura**_

* * *

_The End of the World. Named that for which it was where all worlds, destroyed and enveloped by the darkness that which attacked it, _had ended up in a sort of...Frankenstein's Purgatory. Remains, pieces, fragments, basically corpses of those unfortunate worlds had simply drifted and formed into this mass-this Heartless World.

And as such, not a living soul could be found-only the Heartless that wandered the desolate, magic-charged wasteland.

At least, except for one. I had visited this place countless times-it was closer to my domain, given how near the edge of this universe's reality it was. Each time, it grew a bit bigger-the Heartless were getting voraciously stronger with each passing year, and then there was a sudden breach of the Wall that led to the destruction of more worlds. Many were lost, and many more were found at the mercy of other worlds, homeless or left to wander.

I never understood why I visited this place, this rotting junkyard of worlds, the seedy underbelly considered the Heart (Ha-Ha) of the Heartless-their domain.

I suppose I had done it out of sake of curiosity...maybe by some distant, lingering hope that perhaps there was a lost resident among the ruins, confused and scared. But I knew that chance was highly unlikely. If the resident of a destroyed world wasn't fortunate enough to escape its destruction, then they were swallowed by the corrupted Darkness the Heartless produced, torn apart and turned into one of them.

Then again...here, all time stops. Due to that, I could not tell or foresee if that was true. This place was a true Limbo, where time was basically non-existent.

I suppose...maybe my reason of visiting was perhaps here I could walk and think without having to see different futures-different turns, twists in time, various possibilities-constantly turning and unfolding in front of my eyes.

I figured today's visit had a reason no different from the many before...but I couldn't help but feel the notion that today was different. Again I found myself walking towards the vortex at the end of the Final Dimension, silence all around save for the sound of my boots making a soft sound as I walked, sometimes a soft crunch, but it was a sound that was almost reminiscent of one walking on soft, fine-grained sand.

I wasn't afraid nor bothered by the Heartless. They had largely ignored me, which was all for the better. I did not come to fight. I had come to think, just to wander this fragmented Junkyard.

Fate had other ideas.

And it began with two faint words.

_"Help me."_

I had looked up, the noise hitting my ears as I stood on the ledge of the Crevasse. I had brushed it off as the wind-at least until I heard it again.

_"Help me."_

It was faint-very wispy and weak-but it was human, and it was calling out, drifting on the wind. I had hesitated-there were more things down here than just Heartless, there were things here that often fooled unsuspecting prey. But...I couldn't really resist my curiosity, nor my concern.

So I followed it, pushing silver locks out of my face.

The plea led me to a door.

It wasn't like the door I had encountered at the Final Rest. It was far, far different (and thankfully, didn't lead to _HIM_). It was mechanical-industrial in design, Hexagonal in shape. A red beacon light-broken in and faintly sparking as the white, snowy ash of the world seemed to fill the cavity of its filament in-stood above its frame, Black and yellow stripes (the colors used as a hazard indication) lined the shut door as it just seemed crooked, out of place on that of the dark wall.

I couldn't blame it. The pieces of the worlds shown were often out of place in a dreary place like this.

And yet, I could hear the voice again, drifting from the door.

I could see bits of smoky shadow drift from a crack, the striped door only slightly ajar. I had summoned Fortuna-my Scythe-and wedged the door open farther, a seemingly endless, black abyss greeting me.

Yet, I could still hear the voice, calling for help.

I had taken a deep breath, and soon stepped inside the cavernous darkness...

...And found myself in an odd Homecoming.

The darkness gave way to reveal the land-ruinous and forcibly mashed with that of the feral, organic nature that was the End of the World. The land was well split, cracked to show more of its merge.

But what it was, to my surprise, was that of a town. Nothing like that of the towns I've known, but it wasn't something futuristic, either. It was a simple, little city town, from what could be made of the torn remains that were recognizable. The same snowy white ash littered the ground, sometimes drifting through the cracks.

I was careful to where I stepped-as the ground was loose. If I found where the keyhole of this world used to be, I suppose I could find whoever (or whatever) was making that faint plea, which had stopped when I entered.

I found the large, cavernous pit within a neighborhood street, the buildings curved and warped around it menacingly. By the looks of it, there might have been a building here, once. within the pit, the colors and organic nature of the End of the World had shown through, as if this town was only a fickle skin layer.

That was not what surprised me.

What had surprised me was a faint, green glint, just shimmering out of the corner of my eyes.

_'Odd._' I pondered. The ashy ground was smooth...but there was a bump just a few feet away from the pit, one that seemed, out of place.

I had knelt down and dusted the bump, revealing-much to my own surprise:

A heart. It had been sitting there, inert, covered by a thick line of ash as if it were something claimed by the sands of time.

I had put on my black gloves, picking up the heart carefully. It was cool to the touch-not deathly cold, but not hot either-and it was a normal soft, rosy pink. It had fit quite nicely in the palm of my hands. I could feel the living energy within it pulsing, slowly and with a faint rhythm, but enough to indicate it was still alive. It had a more frosty glass-like quality to its appearance, a thin, half translucent layer resting over the rosy pink color.

Why haven't the Heartless found this one? Even more, how come they haven't even touched it? I kept my hands cupped around it. I was tempted to take one of my gloves off and find out for myself-to start the link and see exactly who (or what) this heart was.

The fact that it turned from rosy pink to a strange, neon green, the rhythm of its pulsing energy suddenly quickening, had told me that now was not the right time to ponder.

I could barely feel the adrenaline and fear that pulsed within the heart. _'Something is here-the Heartless are here.' _

A ring of Neoshadows had appeared, and I quickly pocketed the Heart, summoning Fortuna once more, her curved blade alight with an electric blue glow as the pack decided to attack, claws extended.

I hadn't come to fight.

But I had to escape somehow, hm?

I began with a long arcing sweep of Fortuna, a shock-wave blasting out at a good number of the Neoshadows, and continued the assault on those trying to get at me from behind. Once I found my opening, I ran and made my escape, the Neoshadows in hot pursuit. I sliced through any other Heartless that decided to get in my way as I made my way back to the door, the heart pulsing wildly now.

Even in this stressful situation, however, I stayed calm. Panicking was not an option-nay, not even a thought-in my mind.

Even as I managed to get out of the door, I could still see those hungry, emotionless yellow eyes-growing larger as they tried to reach the door to pursue me.

I had used magnet in order to pull the two halves of the door shut, and I quickly beaten the door in to keep it shut, though claws still seeped through the small gaps, trying to break free.

I wasted no time in running back to the Gateway, making my way back to my own domain.

* * *

The heart sat on my desk, resuming its original rosy pink color as I slouched in my chair, my thumb and index finger resting on the side of my cheek and temples, respectfully.

Both gloves were off, but I had yet to start the link.

The heart just sat there, pulsing, unassuming. I should've put it in a container...but I don't know how much damage was done to it. I could only find out by starting the link.

I could put this off for perhaps a half hour longer...or perhaps I'll do it a lot more earlier.

But the question of _why _it wasn't consumed by the Heartless still stewed in my mind. What was so special about this one, aside from its weird green glow (which I suspected, represented its fear)?

It wasn't like the heart could talk. Unless I had it in my body or it was in _its own, _the only way I could figure out this mystery was by beginning the link.

The link was a sort of Empathetic trait I had-if I had touched a heart with a free, exposed hand, I could see the whole life of the individual. I could see their past, their current thoughts, what sort of futures belied them or would be denied. I would learn everything the heart could tell about an individual-and nothing would be hidden.

But I could only gain the knowledge if I made direct contact with it.

I had no idea why I was making no move to grab or touch it. I was curious, yet hesitant. My thirst for knowledge was something that these endless years had yet to beat out...but this Heart, it was making me stall.

I took a deep breath, moved my hair out of my face, and finally grabbed the heart in one of my hands.

The tingling sensation began as the interior of my study-from the windows that had shown a dark, twisting void outside to the bookshelves filled with old journals and books-began to melt away, leaving me with just myself and the heart. The sensation began from my hand and twisted all the way up my arm, spreading through my body. I had taken a deep breath, clearing my head and relaxing my grip, the darkness I was now in wavering a little.

_'Let's start with your name...'_

Silence, for about a few seconds. Slowly, the darkness seemed to become a fuzzy blur surrounding me.

_'...Daniel? Is that your name?'_

The tingling sensation suddenly became a SHARP pain in my back. Displeasure-it hated being called that. It? No, he, he-a name like that, it had to be male.

_'...Danny? Is that what you like to be called?'_

The blur began to come into focus as a sort of confirmation. I began to grip the heart a little more firmly.

_'Ok then, Danny...show me what's so special about you.'_

A white flash went off in front of my eyes and I winced. It wasn't anything dazzling-it was quick, to say the least-but I had held back a few choice words as I blinked.

It wasn't a flash of magic-but a flash from _a Camera. _

I was fully linked in, apparently. I had looked down at my hands I found I wasn't holding the heart anymore-nor were they the tanned, slender hands I recognized as my own. I was gripping a white and black hazmat suit (with a rather...well, boisterous looking logo of a man's face on the chest), but this wasn't me.

This, apparently, was 'Danny'-at least, one of Danny's memories before I had found his heart. Someone had approached me-apparently the one who took the picture. A girl, about the same height as my eyes could see...somewhat goth-ish in appearance, as well as tomboyish. If I could, I would've grinned at this girl's appearance. It was...dare I say it? cute? Apparently she was this boy's friend, if my reading of her body language and expression was correct. There was another friend of his as well-dark colored skin, bespectacled, and dressed in a rather...well, what was the word children used these days? geeky appearance? It wasn't overly so, but it was enough to catch my attention.

_"Okay, you've seen the portal, now can we get out of here? My parents could be back any minute! Besides, they say it doesn't work anyways." _the words escaped my lips, but it wasn't my voice in the slightest. I was slowly getting a good picture of what Danny must've been-definitely human, a teenager at best, and he sounded rather...awkward? I could see just a little bit of jet black hair out of the corner of my vision. He probably must be awkward and scrawny, something that probably could not be helped.

_"Come on, Danny; a Ghost Zone? Aren't you curious? you've got to check it out!"_

I could feel my curiosity syncing up with Danny's own-though with mine, there was familiarity. _'Ghost Zone? why does that sound so familiar...?'_

I found myself approaching said portal-it had been inert and inactive, showing a hollow, mechanical interior-though its frame was extremely familiar to that of the door I encountered in the End of the World. If this was actually real and I was actually myself, I would most likely made it malfunction, given my high power of magic. But if even if those two factors were true, it wasn't working, which would've left it to be safe, at least.

_"You know what? You're right...Who knows what sort of awesome, super cool things exist on the other side of that portal?"_

Ah yes. Young curiosity. The bane of cats and the trait of Monkeys. I almost hadn't noticed that I (well, Danny, actually) began putting on the suit and was about to enter the empty cavity of the portal when the girl had called out, stopping me for a second.

She had taken the logo off. Underneath, a little black logo was revealed-odd. Perhaps this memory was altered in the past, somehow? I didn't give it much thought.

_"You don't want to go walking around with that," _the girl went, pointing at the man's face with her free hand to indicate what she meant, _"On your chest."_

With that, I went inside. it was dark, save for a low, electric blue glow that came from the wiring and panels on the inside. It was rather intricate-I was rather impressed. If only I could see what this looked like when it was functional.

BEEP.

I mentally froze. _'What the he-'_

and immediately I was subjected to the _WORST PAIN IMAGINABLE. _The only other time-and the LAST time-I ever experienced this pain was when I was caught within a rift that occurred in the Lanes Between-one that very much ripped my body apart and would've otherwise killed me, had death actually been a Privilege granted to me (it had taken me a decade or two to properly regenerate, and even then I was still so sore it hurt to move even a finger for a few months).

But this time, this was way, way worse.

This was a _mortal human boy _experiencing THIS sort of pain, and he wasn't being forcibly ripped apart, meaning it had felt Ten times as worse.

Was this, perhaps, the memory of his death?

I highly doubted it-why would I find the heart of a dead child, still beating and full of life, in the End of the World? Then again, it could explain why the heartless didn't touch it...but I doubted this was the answer.

I could feel my body spasming due to the flash of pain, and I could feel myself being ejected out of the link as my surroundings returned to that of my study, and I collapsed on the floor, the heart resting to my side as I could feel the pain finally dying down, but still leaving a burning aftermath.

After a while of stunned silence, I had said aloud, exasperated: "Good GOD, Daniel, who the hell puts an ON button on the inside of a portal?!"

* * *

_**Thank you for reading. You can PM me if you want some stuff cleared up, but this is mainly though Obscura's point of view, if you couldn't tell.**_

_**-Webs**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**I figured, out of curiosity and the fact I have more ideas, that I'd make this a small, update-to-pass-the-time Oneshot Collection/Ministory. Most and all oneshots that I may write for this happen after the events of the first one in this collection, and if it's of note to say when in the KH (or DP) timeline one story begins or takes place in, I'll have it noted at the top like this. Since who knows how long it takes for inspiration for Obscura to strike (especially writing in her POV), this thing will still have the completed status, but you are free to follow if that is what you wish. -Webs**_

(+0+)

_To say that there are no such things as spirits was to say the individual who uttered it was absolutely oblivious to the world around them._ Whether this was a good or bad thing depended on the nature of the world.

Spirits exist, and they come in many variations. There were spirits of nature, creatures and people who only appeared old mythos and legends of old-even the variation known as Fate Spirits, creatures of Fate that served as Psychopomps and helped to maintain the balance of life and death among mortal beings, were often mentioned in tales one would least expect to find them.

So to answer the questions many may ask...I do believe in spirits, in Ghosts as well. But am I one? No, contrary to whatever old legends and myths there are about me.

It is true that I am...well, considerably ancient. I've been around for so long, I've simply stopped remembering how old I was. It wasn't out of negligence or embarrassment of my age that I had-It's just, if I had to be frank, a great pain to remember all those years. Anyone who asked, I'd often just say I was a few centuries or so old-maybe seven or eight thousand years, tops?

Then again, I never looked my age in my domain. Even out of it, my appearance and complexion might change, but even if I looked like an elderly, 80 year old woman, It had betrayed the truth that I was older than any old mortal elder that existed.

In my domain, my appearance did not fluctuate in age as it would when I visited a world or two. I suppose, in a metaphorical sense, the ever changing of my appearance to other humans was simply a visual cue of the flow of time-I could look like a young girl at the cusp of puberty in one world, and an elderly woman in her twilight years the next. Very rarely did it become a middle ground for the naked eye. It seemed like there was only two worlds that had let me been seen for what my appearance truly was.

In my domain, and to the eyes of spirits-deceased and natural all alike-I was an adult woman, around 21 at the most. In all honesty, if it wasn't for my hair and the tone of my skin, I'd look at least 19 years-the silvery color and the tanned skin only served to make me look a bit older than that.

But regardless. I had been that way ever since the end of the Age of Fairy Tales.

And that was a long, long, _long_, time ago.

I fiddled with the container that I had put Danie-_Danny's _heart in, runes engraved all around both ends of the cylindrical lid as a glow of blue magic swirled around the heart, healing whatever damage the heart had taken as it sat within the dust at the End of the World.

The damage that was made was the simple trauma usually found in hearts that had their physical forms torn part by the Darkness. It would be a slow process, but it would heal quickly, and once the heart was released, the boy's heart will simply turn back into the human it used to be, dazed as if waking from a long, endless dream.

I put the container onto my desk, tapping my fingertips together as I was deep in thought.

This boy's heart, sad as it is to admit, was probably the first visiting mortal I've even had in my stronghold of solitude in eons. No other mortal had ever really managed to get even fifty feet close to where it was positioned. As I had to admit many times, my stronghold existed in a realm just at the edge of this universe-in a realm where the laws of reality and time just simply cease. It wasn't non-existence, but it was close. A sort of pocket dimension that was in the middle of Nothingness and the reality that was the many worlds.

As I said, the laws of reality and time were not applied here. and it was absolutely isolated. It was perfect for me...after I had received my...punishment, eons ago, I had found this place and made my stronghold, making it my domain. And for eons very much forgotten, it is here that I stay, out of the way of others. Even if spirits and other immortal, timeless beings found this place, I wasn't bothered by them unless they came seeking my aid, which was scarce and very far in-between.

That being said, Mortals seeking this place would have to do the almost impossible to reach it, and even then, there was no guarantee that they'd arrive here in one piece.

Granted, I had merely found Danny lying in the dust and brought him to my stronghold without a problem, but that was only because he was reduced to a heart submerged in a seemingly endless slumber.

I often came to grips that I did get lonely from time to time. Then again, I had reminded my heart that seeking to socialize and finding a friend among any being was foolish.

The very last time I even had a group of people I had even considered having a strong bond of camaraderie with, was prior to my punishment...and it had only ended in tragedy. I reminded myself at how idiotic and stupid they all were in the long run.

That pompous Blonde Swordsman who'd brag about how grandiose he believed he was, and walked with an arrogant, kingly swagger. _Yet that same Blonde would willingly throw himself in harm's way and be the one to pull off some sort of heroic rescue that would work if anyone was in danger._

That ditzy, Rose-pink haired Mage who couldn't keep a straight face to save her life-foolishly running away from home with her baby sister in tow to partake in a war that didn't concern either of them. _Yet she was probably the most powerful Mage and the most dedicated to her group of friends-if they were in danger, all of her prankish, immature ways would stop and she would burn with the intensity of a thousand suns when she was in the battlefield._

That stuck up Darkness Spirit in disguise-an absolute ass with an ego bigger than any world in existence. _But he really did care in the end, didn't he? He was always watching out for all of us._

There was the Apprentice Mage who seemed to be the only level-headed one, but even she would get idiotic. _And yet you yourself admit she was probably much wiser than you could ever be._

And that one Apprentice Wielder...He couldn't wield his blade proper without fumbling, and he'd always miss his target and end up hitting ME instead. _But we all helped him out. He grew stronger and confident the more we rallied around him, helping him out._

Then there was the Idiot. _My Idiot._

That stupid grin on her face, her obliviousness to the dangers at hand, _the absolute wonder she herald when we arrived at a new world, her stupid sunny disposition, her kindness, the very FACT she never stopped being nice towards me...The very fact she considered me her __**Friend**__..._

I buried my face in my hands. I don't cry. I never do-I refuse to. I will happily chop my arm off before I admit that thinking of those idiots-especially _HER_-upsets me to the point of tears. Of all the faces, hers haunts me the most. Every memory about her was the most vivid in my mind. I parted my fingers a little to look at the container again.

Socializing with anyone was a foolish idea. Danny, Daniel, it never mattered. Danny is a mortal being-a young teenager, no less. He's better off having his mortal teenager friends than talking to me, someone who's been around for centuries.

Yet...his friends weren't here, were they? Not even his family was around. Even in that empty illusion created in that body-less state-he'd probably feel a lot more alone than he has prior to his world's destruction. Not to mention...the boy's memories felt familiar, a nagging thought always in the back of my head as I entered his thoughts and peered into his memories. The more familiar I had gotten with his surroundings, the more familiar the concepts of the 'Ghost Zone' and the various Spirits he encounters and fights on a seemingly regular basis became.

But I don't remember ever being familiar with it. At least, I think I don't.

My thirst of knowledge had led to a driving curiosity at these little nagging thoughts.

Due to the nature of my punishment, I could recall many important memories. The fact that familiarity was coursing through my mind about the Ghost Zone had meant that this was one memory I either chose to forget...

_Or someone _MADE_ me forget._

I stared at the container a little longer. I suppose diving into the Boy's Station of Awakening-the innermost part of his heart-might be best in answering the nagging thoughts in my mind. I suppose socializing with the still active part of his dazed consciousness in the means of getting information might be acceptable. I was not seeking friendship with this mortal boy-I only wish to satiate my inquiries.

It wasn't like he would remember who I was or any of this when he was back to normal. Even if he remembered faint traces, he'd pass it off as a weird, far away dream.

I sighed and tapped my fingers. Regardless, it was going to be hell to set the spell up in order to open a gateway into the innermost reaches of his heart.

Then again, a Dive into the Heart was never, ever, easy.


End file.
